Syrum, Schmyrum
by SKaroe
Summary: This story is based off the dream I had of Dark! Raph. The turtles face Shredder and as Raphael is about to end him, Shredder injects the syrum in Raph and has him taken away. Shredder fills Raph's head with lies while the turtles heal and train harder than ever to get Raph from Shredder's clutches. With the help for Casey and an escaped Karai, they go back to get their brother.


**[I decided I wanted to write down my dream that I had about the episode of Raph being brain-washed! It was really awesome and vivid and I just wanted to write it down. If you're reading this, be ready to be confused and thanks for taking the time to do as such.]**

Raphael jumped onto Shredder and pinned him down to the ground, his sai pointing down to Shredder's neck, ready to end all the pain and suffering that Shredder has caused everyone. His eyes squinted, teeth gritted, everything around him slowly disappearing as he looked into the dreadful eyes of Oroku Saki; the man who almost killed his father and his bigger brother, the man who had effected the lives of his father, his brother, his friends, and his half-sister's lives. Shredder was no man, he was nothing but a human that caused everyone trouble and hurt. He was ready to eliminate one of the world's biggest problems, he was ready. He heard the oldest terrapin yell, _"Raph, do it!"_ encouragingly as they all wanted the pain to end. Pressing his foot down hard on Shredder's chest covered by metal hard, he leaned down, ready to do it. Suddenly, Shredder bellowed lowly and struck behind the turtle, the syrum coursing through the turtle's veins, quickly taking effect. The once green eyed turtle, devoted to protecting those in danger was now the white eyed turtle who wanted nothing but to serve Shredder's every command.

"Bow to me."

Raphael's mind was altering from the syrum to his sane self, an internal conflict banging through his head. He clawed his head, trying to figure out what was what. He remembered 3 turtles and a rat master, he remembered a snake girl, he remembered a figure with a kabuto. He desperately tried to fight the syrum, yelling in agony and frustration as it took over his mind. He got cold sweats as all the 15 years of precious memories soon faded. Only the thought of serving Shredder came to mind. He felt hand grabbing his arms, dragging him away as he continued to try to fight the syrum, which was hopeless. As he was being dragged away, he heard distant noises. The clashing of weapons, deep laughter, cries of sorrow. Before the doors closed, he heard the words, _"Raph, no! What are you doing to him? Where are you taking my brother?!_ _ **Give me back my brother! Give him back now!**_ _"_ Slam.

He woke up in a dark room. The only light provided was the sliver of sunshine that shone through. To his right was a cold, metal bench, which he was leaned against. To his left, nothing but a gray brick wall. His legs were cold, as the floor was nothing but concrete. His eyes slowly glimpsed at the caged door, everything around him in a blurry haze as his eyes were slowly opening but very heavy. He tried looking around, but he looked too quickly that it gave him head pains. He hissed, grabbing the side of his head and squeezing his eyes tight. He had no recollection of what happened. All he knew was that he was alone. A sound of a lock turning grabbed his attention and he tried looking again, but he couldn't. He was too groggy, so he let his eyes close as he quietly groaned. He felt a numbness in his arm and traced a finger over it, wincing back quickly at the touch of it. He was lifted up and slung across someone's shoulder- a furry shoulder with a heavy yet soft hand on his shell as he was carried out of the cell. He breathed heavily and shallowly, suddenly quenching thirst.

He was set down and felt some warmth on his skin, so he opened his eyes a bit to see what it was. It was just some light, but as long as he wasn't cold, that was fine. He was shaken from his shoulders roughly and rapidly, his headache getting worse as he was being forced to awaken. It all happened slowly around him- the shaking, the demand to wake up, his screams of pain- then, he heard "stop." Everything suddenly stopped at that very word. He heard a huff of defeat and the slow daze slowly became a normal pace around him, allowing him to open his eyes without any pain. His eyes fell upon a figure covered with metal from head to toe. His head especially. He wondered if he should be threatened or afraid, but he was too tired to decide. The figure leaned forward from the shadow and laced his hands through his fingers, leaning onto the table and looking into the now-vulnerable turtle's eyes, full of fear and wonder. He grinned menacingly under his kabuto.

"Raphael, you have submerged from your slumber," Shredder said.

"Uh, wh-who are you?" Raphael asked groggily.

"I am your father, Oroku Saki. But, you will call me Shredder."

"O-okay... _Shredder_ , what's going on?"

"You just had a rough night, _my son_."

"Oh, I-I did?"

"Indeed. You faced your biggest foes, the ones who betrayed you- betrayed us."

"R-really? Did I lose or something?"

"Not exactly, but you redeemed yourself."

"Who are these so called 'foes'?"

"Your brethren."

"W-wait, you mean, my brothers? I have _brothers_?"

"Yes, you do. They go by Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo. They work for our biggest threat, Hamato Yoshi. But they refer to him as Splinter. He is nothing but a vile rat."

"What are they like? Why did they betray you-us?"

"Leonardo is all about honor, but he lost that immediately the moment he joined the rat's side. Donatello is intelligent- he has a very advanced knowledge of many things. Michelangelo is your youngest brother, who will do anything to keep his family together. Splinter and I used to live together as children, but he betrayed me by taking the love of my life. He made them believe he was your true father. He took away my life, our lives, Raphael."

"Woah, that's some bull," Raph said in disbelief. "Were we all good before?"

"You all got along very well as the years went by. Do you remember anything?"

"N-no, I don't," Raph said in a defeated tone. "Will you tell me?"

"I suppose."

 ***TMNT***

The three turtles sulked as they slowly approached their home, their shells battered and their skin bruised and cut. Their weapons damaged and dragging on the ground, they walked in and collapsed onto the living room floor, the loud noise pulling Splinter out of his meditation. Splinter ran out of his room and to his sons as quickly as he could, bending down to examine each one of them. They all groaned and hissed as Splinter tried to examine them. Splinter looked around for some medical supplies, quickly doing what he could to heal them. Once he dabbed some alcohol on their cuts and got them propped up on the couch and soft cushions, he noticed one of his sons was missing.

"Where is Raphael?" Splinter questioned worriedly.

"H-he, he's gone, Master Splinter," Donatello replied weakly. "Sh-Shredder, h-he took Raph."

"We tried to, to get him back," Michelangelo added, his voice strained and dry. "B-but th-they already dragged him away, Sensei."

"W-we're sorry, father," Leonardo said raspily, hissing as his throat felt like it was closing in on him.

"You have no reason to apologize, my sons," Splinter reassured them. "You did the best you could do. I will call April to assist me in healing you all."

Splinter quickly rushed to his cheese phone and called April, trying to calmly tell her to come on such short notice this late at night. His urged voice across the line made April concerned, making her realize it was very serious and he desperately needed her help. She slammed the phone down and quickly dressed, phoning Casey if he could come along with her. She met up with him and they quickly climbed down the sewer, running as fast as they could to the lair. Splinter was attending to Mikey's wounds as Leo weakly grabbed onto Mikey's hand so Mikey could let out the pain somehow. April and Casey tried running faster as they heard Mikey's loud screams of pain, panting as they reached them. April looked at the three turtles, bending down quickly to Donnie then to Leo. Casey looked around and searched the lair with a questioning expression on his face.

"Hey, Splinter, where's Raph?" Casey asked, afraid of any possible answer. "Where's he at?"

"He's gone," Leo coughed, grabbing his side as he coughed violently. "Shredder got him."

"What?" Casey whispered in disbelief. He felt his eyes water and his body grow weak. "N-no, that can't be right."

"It is all too true," Splinter replied. "Oroku Saki took away my son."

Casey walked over to the punching dummy, his anger rising all so quickly. He punched the dummy harder and harder each time, then kicked it with such force, it swung off and landed on the floor with a loud thump! He couldn't believe it- another important person in his life was taken away from him. He couldn't let it be true. He had to do something. "I'm gonna go get him-"

"Casey, no," April urged. "You can't go alone. You know what Raph is capable of. What if Shredder did something to him and he turned against us? We can't go until they're healed and ready. We can't do this alone, we're not capable enough."

"I can't just stand around here and do nothing while that no good son of a gun is doing who knows what with my best friend!"

"Why don't you make yourself useful and help us help them so that we can go help Raph sooner?!" April yelled back, silence filling the air. "Help them, and then we can help Raph."

Casey sighed in defeat and went to Donnie since April was helping Leo and Splinter was helping Mikey. Donnie wasn't too happy with it but he didn't want to argue, he was in too much pain to pick a fight. Casey grabbed a roll of bandage cloth and slowly lifted Donnie's wrist up, making Donnie hiss and wince away. Casey sighed frustrated, trying to wrap Donnie's wound on his wrist without hurting him, but every slight move hurt him. He knew then that they were hurt real bad. Donnie breathed quickly and tried his best not to let out any cries of pain. Casey grabbed a nearby clothing, balled it up and shoved it in Donnie's mouth for him to shout into. As Casey hurriedly wrapped Donnie's wrist, Donnie screamed into the balled cloth, which was luckily muffled.

April searched for all the wounds on Leo, seeing every cut, gash, bruise and scrape on him. His arms and legs were the most battered and bruised, and his shell was scratched. April didn't know where to start first. Splinter already applied alcohol on the gashes and cuts, but they still looked bad. She decided to wrap them and reapply some antibiotic cream and alcohol every 6 hours or so. She opened a package of cream and scooped some on her finger, gently rubbing it on the wounds on his arms and legs. Leo grunted with every touch, trying and surprisingly succeeding to hold in his yells. April apologized every time he grunted as she didn't want to hurt him, but it was the only way to get him to recover. She then bandaged the gashes that were more prone to getting infected and put on regular bandaids on the minimal cuts. She stroked Leo's hand to comfort him as he tried to sleep, but he couldn't. He offered April a weak smile as a 'thank you.'

Splinter was very cautious when he treated his youngest son. He knew that the young turtle was more sensitive than his other brothers and wanted to do nothing to hurt him, but he knew that was not an option. He carefully lifted each limb and slowly wrapped the extensive wounds and dabbed some cream April handed him on all the wounds. He noticed that Mikey had a cut on his cheek, so he quickly wiped the little amount of blood dripping out away with his thumb and scraped off the dried blood carefully. Mikey whimpered, but he knew that his Sensei was only trying to help him. Mikey was parched; he needed to drink something. He tried to lift himself up but he quickly slipped back down, letting out a cry. Splinter quickly cooed Mikey to calm down, wanting to know what he wanted.

"I need water, Sensei," Mikey gasped.

"I'll get him water, Splinter. Should I get them all water?" Casey offered.

"Please," Splinter urged. Casey nodded and came back with a glass for each of them, watching them gulp down their water. "Is that better, my sons?"

"Very," they said in unison.

"Good," Splinter responded, standing up. "April and Casey, are you capable of watching over them?"

"Uh, sure," Casey responded for them both.

"Very well. I need to think this through." Splinter was about to walk into his room when April caught up with him.

"Master Splinter? Are you okay?"

"I lost my daughter long ago. She returned to me but was again taken away, and now one of my sons has been taken away from the same man. I do not think I will be in good spirits, April. I am losing my family."

 ***TMNT***

Raphael was equipped with Shredder's main weapon, an easy adjustment for him. _'It's basically a bigger sai, but for my wrist,'_ Raph thought to himself. He practiced on many objects, proud with each slice he made successfully. Shredder lay a hand on Raph's shoulder, looking down at him. He gave Raph a nod of approval, getting Raph in high spirits. Each time he tried, he got better at handling the massive weapon. Tiger Claw, Fishface and Rahzar all quickly became unapproving of their new colleague. They didn't like to be shown up by an 'amateur' like Raphael, who was only a teenager. When Raph made his way out, the other three started talking under their breaths. Noticing this, Raph listened in on their conversation.

"I do not favor that turtle like Master Shredder does," Tiger Claw said. "He is nothing but a child."

"Yeah, we could easily take him out if it wasn't for the fact that Shredder wanted him to stick around," Rahzar agreed.

"I would love to cut up that turtle in pieces and make him into turtle soup," Fishface sneered. "I live to see the day."

"It is a good thing this is only a temporary thing; once he captures and ends Splinter's life, he will have no use for him and will most likely let us finish him off," Tiger Claw suggests, a cunning smile on his face.

"You can think what you want; it only proves that you're jealous of me!" Raphael yelled, catching their attention. "You will never own up to the honor I've been bestowed upon. I'm better than all of you and I'm not gonna apologize for it 'cause you're all babies! Get over it already."

"I would watch your back, turtle," Fishface warns with a devious smile.

"And I would watch out for the cutting board I'm plannin' to slam you down on," Raph hissed back, smiling devilishly back at Fishface's wince. With that said and done, Raph walked out full of pride and went to go relax since there was nothing to do.

What he was told was that he and his brothers used to help Shredder rule and take reign of the Foot Clan and they were a good family. They used to practice their skills on each other and used to be let outside to practice on "no-good-doers" for a more realistic experience. Just that year, Splinter had emerged from his lair and approached them all and convinced all but he and Karai that he was their true father. He even tried to persuade them to think that Karai was his, too. His brothers fell for his trap and turned their back on Shredder, taking the side of the Hamato Clan and then vanishing, going out and fighting people. Raphael was in utter disbelief when Shredder told him everything; he couldn't believe that they would turn their backs on someone they've been with for so long. He was determined to either get them back or to take them out trying. His main task was to do what Shredder commanded. Shredder also gave him the information on how to tell which brother was which; Leonardo the one in a blue mask and had katanas as weapons, Donatello in a purple mask with a 6" bow staff as his weapon of choice, and Michelangelo in an orange mask with nunchucks in hands. He was ready to face them whenever they dared to face him again.

 ***TMNT***

Lingering in the shadows of her cage, Karai slithered around, trying to keep away from Shredder; the one responsible for her mutation, the one who took away her mother, the one who lied to her for her entire life about who her true father was, the one who took away her life. She had no idea of the events happening outside of her cage. All that she knew was that she was slowly losing her mind and that she had to escape this vile prison. With Baxter keeping a constant vigil on her, she couldn't yet attempt her plan to escape. Today was different.

She was lurking in the shadowed corner of her cage, peacefully sleeping when an eery and loud alarm went off, sending off some sort of alert to all of Shredder's minions. She heard a voice demanding Baxter to join them and saw him fly away quickly. She squinted her eyes and slowly slithered out of her cage once she was sure it was clear and started to bash her tail against the glass, swinging harder as she heard it crack. Eventually the glass shattered around her, making it a perfect time to escape. She quickly bolted out of her cage and later on found an exit, shooting into every shadow she saw on the streets. She was in an alley and found some lunch and a place to hide out in, deciding to stay there for a while. As long as she was out, she was safe in her terms.

 ***TMNT***

Sparring against each other harshly, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo wanted to prove that their long, painful recovery paid off. They wanted so badly to get back to the surface and to get their brother back. Their weapons clashed many times and they all landed many blows on each other, not stopping even though they were exhausted. They only wanted to be allowed to go back up.

"Yame," Splinter announced. The turtles ceased sparring and sat on their knees, their heads tilted down and their eyes closed, ready to listen. Splinter paced back and forth, stroking his long little strip of hair from his chin, thinking it through. He knew the risk of injury was very likely and he knew they had a very good chance of returning Raphael. They had trained very hard and non-stop to shape up to face Shredder and their brother. They at least wanted to get him home. Splinter sighed deeply, finally facing them. "You may go."

"We'll try our best to get Raph back, Sensei," Leonardo said, his voice full with a serious and determined tone. "We'll do what it takes."

"I wanna come with you guys," Casey interrupted.

"What?" The turtles, April and Splinter all said in unison.

"He's my best friend; I gotta fight to get him back!"

"Casey, you could get hurt," April warned. "Really badly."

"Don't you think I know that? I don't care; we need Raph back, asap! I don't care if you say no, I'm still going!" Casey said sternly.

"I've got to admit, he is good with a stick," Donatello added.

"Yeah! He's great at fighting," Mikey nodded. "What about you, April?"

"I don't know, guys. I think this is your battle."

"The last thing we need is everyone getting hurt," Leo said. "April, unless you really want to come, I think you should stay. We can't risk everyone."

"I'll stay with Splinter, guys. You go get Raph back. We need him."

"April is right. Go get your brother back, my sons, so that we can once again be a family," Splinter agreed. "Now go."

"Hai, Sensei," the turtles replied, bowing before bolting out the lair.

As they slowly looked around to make sure no one would see them, they emerged from the sewer for what seemed like forever. Leo was the first one out, waiting for the others to get out before dragging the circular metal plate back onto its rightful place, running into the shadows. He signaled to advance to the next alley, quickly running to it. Eventually they arrive to the alley in which Karai has been hiding in, and they stop dead in their tracks when they hear a hiss. To Casey, Donnie and Mikey, it was unfamiliar, but to Leo, he immediately knew who it was. He slowly approached the hissing noise, stopping when Karai jumped out of the shadow and snapped at him. He stood there still, staring at her until she calmed down. Her eyes widened as she recognized the terrapin. She ceased any more defenses.

"Leo," Karai slurred.

"Karai, how did you escape? Where's Raph?" Donnie questioned, stepping beside Leo.

"I broke the glasss while they all leffttt. I don't know where Rraph isss," she admits. "I only esscaped. I didn't know he wasss a prisonerr."

"That's okay, sis, it isn't your fault," Mikey reassured her, smiling at her.

"Do you think you can help us get him back?" Leo asked, his eyes tender. "We could really use all the help we can get."

"Tooo dangerouusss," Karai responded, looking down. "But, I will help you, Leoo."

"Y-you will? Are you sure?" Leo asked, looking up at her surprised.

"Yess," she replied.

"Thank you, Karai," Leo whispered, hugging her quickly. "Now, let's go get out brother back."

"And my best friend! Goongala!" Casey yelled.

 ***TMNT***

"Stockman! You let her escape! You fool!" Shredder yelled, angered as he saw the shattered glass scattered around the floor.

"I'm sssorryy, Sshhhredder," Stockman buzzed.

"Search the town- send those two traitors to retrieve her. Get her back," Shredder spat harshly.

"Yyyyeesss, Maassstterr Shrreedderr."

"Master Shredder," Tiger Claw barged in. "We have company."

"Finally," Shredder replied. "Get me the turtle. It is time for him to prove himself to me."

"Yes, sir." Tiger Claw eventually returned with Raphael, soon leaving him and Shredder alone.

"Raphael, it is time for you to end this."

"I will do my best, Shredder," Raphael responded, ready for battle. "I've been waiting for this moment."

"Seize their very lives for betraying us."

Raphael nodded and turned around, walking towards Tiger Claw, Rahzar and Fishface, who were ready to fight. They eventually saw Bebop and Rocksteady, who were being sent out to search the town for Karai once again. They grunted, wanting to stay behind to fight, but had no choice but to go. They waited at the doors, waiting to hear them enter their territory. Karai had led Leo, Mikey, Donnie and Casey through the way she left and slowly entered the big, empty room, looking around for any signs of life. Then the doors burst wide open, revealing all the foes, with Raph walking out last, his new weapons shocking them all. Shredder stepped out behind him, standing there as he knew he would enjoy this bloodbath. Karai immediately felt threatened and hissed, ready to fight. Raph was ready to advance, and Karai was as well. The distance between them looked so far apart but they were both determined to meet each other in the middle. Karai gave one last final loud hiss, slithering her way toward Raph quickly. That was when everyone else began to fight- Mikey against Rahzar, Casey against Fishface, and Donnie and Leo against Tiger Claw. Everything went by so quickly around Raph. It was his time to honor Shredder. He charged towards Karai, letting out a battle cry when he gazed into her eyes, a memory coming to him.

 _"C'mon, Sensei, tell us what we're doing today!" Turtle tot Mikey squealed excitedly, jumping around._

 _"Settle down, my son," Splinter chuckled. "Today, you all are going to spar against each other."_

 _"Woah!" "No way!" "Really?!" "This is awesome!"_

 _"You all have gotten very well of using your weapons; very well indeed. It is time for you to transition from practicing on inanimate objects to practicing on each other. Are you up to this task, my sons?"_

 _"Absolutely!" Donnie chirped, a toothy smile on his face._

 _"What if we hurt someone?" Leo asked._

 _"Sparring comes with risks, Leonardo. It is part of becoming a great ninja; taking risks."_

 _"Awh, big 'ol Leo afraid?" Raph snickered, elbowing Leo._

 _"Hey, be quiet, Raph!" Leo sneered, pushing Raph to the ground. Soon they were rolling around, wrestling each other._

 _"Yame!" Splinter warned. "This is no time for roughhousing."_

 _"Sorry, Splinter," Raph and Leo said, elbowing each other in the process._

 _"Donatello against Leonardo, Raphael against Michelangelo. Take your positions."_

 _"Awh, why do I get Raph? I'm gonna get powned!" Mikey whined, dragging his feet to the other side of the room._

 _"Because it'll be funny," Raph laughed, taking his form._

 _"Hajime!"_

 _Raphael smiled cunningly at his baby brother, cracking his knuckles before teasing Mikey about charging. He kept puffing his chest out, making Mikey squeal in fear, getting a laugh out of him. Leo and Donnie waited for Raph to make a move, trying to decide if this was real sparring or just a game they were playing. Raph loved the attention. Splinter watched, waiting for Raph to advance. Eventually getting bored of teasing Mikey, he finally charged, yelling his first battle cry ever confidently. As he advanced, Mikey gulped and slowly charged towards Raph, their eyes finally meeting each others._

Raphael's perspective was flashing from Mikey's eyes to Karai's eyes, eventually making everything around him slow down. Why did he have a flashback of being with Splinter in his dojo with his brothers? Why wasn't he with Shredder? What was happening? He blinked his eyes rapidly, the syrum trying to kickstart back up in his system, but it wasn't enough. Raph realized that it was all a lie; Shredder was the enemy, not Splinter. Splinter really was his father; all of their father, even Karai's father. He was furious. The speed was back to normal, Raph's fist flown out and ready to strike at Karai. He immediately tried to stop dead in his tracks, lowering his weaponed hand down to avoid hurting Karai. She realized that he was out of it and stopped charging. They were about to crash into a wall, their chests pressed together when Raph used Shredder's weapon to stop them from soon embedding into the wall and striking it into the wall. Karai's head was inbetween the blades, relieved that she was unharmed. They both breathed heavily, giving each other a look before nodding at each other. Karai slithered out and into battle and Raph slid his arm out of the treacherous thing, his fists clenched.

"Shredder!" Raph spat, as if the very name was a forbidden word. He charged so quick that Shredder was surprised long enough for Raph to strike a punch on him. As his fist landed on the kabuto, it tilted off of one side of Shredder's face, letting Raph slide it off so he could finally punch the real face of Shredder. He landed many blows on Shredder until Fishface knocked him off, swishing his pocket knives out, ready to fight Raph. "You; sushi time!"

"Turtle soup," Fishface sneered back, charging towards Raph. They got tangled into the other battles between everyone else. Everyone changed challengers until Leo and Karai were pushed out, leaving them with Shredder.

"This ends now, Shredder!" Leo yelled, gritting his teeth tightly. "You've hurt us enough!"

"You fool!" Shredder started, but Karai knocked his feet out from under him, making him fall to the ground. "Karai, my daughter-"

"I am _not your_ _ **daughter!**_ " Karai hissed, striking blows along with Leo at Shredder. Weapons clashed, blows were met, and then a change of plans came to be. Rocksteady and Bebop came back from their useless hunt, their eyes landing on Karai. They both blew through the big fight and grabbed Karai by both sides, dragging her away.

"No, Karai!" Leo cried out, kicking Shredder in the stomach before going after her. " ** _Karai!_** " He reached out his hand to her snake hand and they almost touched until someone grabbed him by the legs and threw him across the room. He crashed into the wall hard, sliding down with everything around him blurry. He looked straight ahead and reached his hand out weakly toward Karai's direction. "Karai, _no_ ," he whispered, his head dangling down. Her eyes fell onto his tender blue eyes, her arm reaching out to him. She mouthed, _'Goodbye, Leo'_ before the grand doors slammed.

"Come on, Leo, we gotta get outta here," Raph urged, lifting Leo up quickly. "Come on, Leo!"

"I will not stop until you all are nothing but a pile of cadavers!" Shredder hissed before being helped out of the battle. He was gripping tightly onto his stomach, where Leo and Karai struck him the most. Tiger Claw, Rahzar and Fishface all helped him back into Stockman's lab, leaving the turtles and Casey.

 ***TMNT***

Splinter and April heard footsteps emerging, both sprinting towards the entrance, hoping for Raphael to be there. First one in was Casey, then Donatello, then Michelangelo and Raphael helping in a hurt Leonardo. April sighed relieved that Raph was back, but went towards Leo to help. They helped him once again onto the couch, having Donnie and Splinter look him over. They concluded he would be fine but he needed another session of healing, but shorter this time. He had lots of bruises that were really tender, but he would be fine.

Splinter approached his hot-headed son, wrapping his arms around him. Raph was still at first, but immediately hugged his father back. It was bad enough that Karai was gone; Splinter had to go through two of his children taken away. He couldn't imagine how painful it was for him.

"I missed you, father. I'm sorry I-"

"Do not apologize, my son, I am glad you are back," Splinter whispered, releasing his grip.

"I am, too, Sensei," Raph smiled. He went back to the others, getting a really tight hug from Mikey, April and Donnie, which he accepted. He knew it was hard on all of them. He and Casey did the hand-grasp and hug thing and had a laugh, and then they all sat down and watched TV. Raph was glad to be home.

 ***TMNT***

"Yo, Leo."

"Mm?"

"I'm sorry we couldn't get Karai back."

"We'll get her eventually. I'm just glad you're back, Raph. Things weren't the same without me fighting with you."

"Awh, you missed me," Raph snickered, chuckling. "It was so weird with Shredder."

"Ehh, you're weird, hothead," Leo smiled, wrapping his arm around Raph's shoulders and pulling him close, quickly wincing afterwards. "Ooh, probably shouldn't have done that."

"Nice one, fearless leader," Raph smiled, elbowing Leo. "You're weird, too. But, a good weird."

 **Just a reminder this was a dream I had. It was an awesome dream. Like, holy crud, it was amazing! If you read it, I hope it was worth your time! I just had to write it out. Thanks for reading it!**


End file.
